Lateral pull-type knuckle coupler



4 June 1969 w. J. METZGER LATERAL PULL-TYPE KNUCKLE COUPLER 7 M zkm m m m W h a Filed Nov. 24. 1967 June 17, 1969 w METZGER LATERAL PULL-TYPE KNUCKLE COUPLER Sheet 2 of2 Filed Nov. 24, 1967 AT TOR United States Patent 3,450,273 LATERAL PULL-TYPE KNUCKLE COUPLER William J. Metzger, East Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to Midland-Ross Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Nov. 24, 1967, Ser. No. 685,419 Int. Cl. B61g 3/06, 1/04 US. Cl. 213-162 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A knuckle coupler of a type normally constructed to a smaller size than the standard couplers used on public railways, provided with a lock-operating mechanism operated by pulling on the mechanism from a position at the side of the car. The mechanism as described hereinbelow includes a lever not heretofore provided which greatly reduces manual effort hitherto required to unlock the coupler.

During World War I and thereafter, a market developed for a coupler of lighter, less expensive construction than the standard knuckle couplers in common-carrier railway use for equipping relatively small railway cars in private use within, e.g., industrial plants, and ore and coal mines. Typical of a light-weight coupler having the standard 10A contour adopted by the Association of American Railroads enabling it to couple with any full size standard coupler, is the type described in US. Patents Nos. 1,201,- 679 and 2,646,896. This coupler has operating mechanism which is sturdy and dependable but entails uncoupling or unlocking operation in which the arrangement of series connected levers tends to increase rather than decrease the pull force for operating the coupler at the point at which manual effort is applied by, e.g., a pull cable. While such prior art couplers couple quite easily, unlocking of a coupled coupler frequently requires the elforts of more than one man pulling in unison on the pull cable.

An important object of this invention is to provide a coupler head and lever arrangement for facilitating the operation of side-pull couplers in general.

It is especially an object of this invention to reduce the manual effort required for operating a knuckle coupler of a conventional type in common use such as disclosed hereinbelow in modified form.

Another object is to provide a lever of special construction adapting it to cooperate with existing coupling structure and to be installed thereon to improve the operation of such couplers. Such a lever is preferably constructed in a manner preventing accidental detachment from the other operating mechanism of the coupler.

An additional object is to provide a coupler modified in accordance with the foregoing objects to provide freedom from fouling by materials, such as molten metal or frozen ore, that may occasionally collect on the coupler.

Such objects are achieved in a side-pull coupler having a lever of special construction supported in external adjacent relation with a sidewall of the head in pivotal fulcruming connection with the head of the coupler and in pivoting tractional relation with mechanism for shifting a lock of the coupler out of its position for locking the coupler or maintaining the coupler in coupled relation with another coupler.

In a preferred embodiment, the lever is constructed for instant installation on the prior art knuckle coupler known to private railway owners in the United States as the Sharon 10A and substantially described in US. Patent No. 2,646,896 issued to the present inventor. The lever is attachable to any link of a prior art lock-operating mechanism which extends partially outside of an access opening in a sidewall in a position corresponding to withdrawal of the coupler lock from its locking position and then is retracted inwardly of the head to entrap the connection of the lever and the link.

By another embodiment, conventional coupler design may be adhered to except that the coupler head and the lever originated by this invention are modified to provide journal-bearing relationship between the head and the lever.

In the drawings with respect to which this invention is described:

FIG. 1 is cross sectional elevation of a coupler in accordance with one embodiment taken approximately along line 1-1 of FIG. 4 as viewed in the longitudinal direction of the coupler, the coupler being shown in its locked condition as assumed when coupled with another coupler;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the coupler similar to FIG. 1 except that the components of the lock-operating mechanism are in positions corresponding to an unlocked condition or knuckle-open condition of the coupler;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the coupler of FIGS. 1 and 2 depicting also an end portion of a car and associated control cable connected with the lock-operating mechanism;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of the coupler of FIGS. 1 to 3;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a link functioning as a component of the lock-operating mechanism;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a bell crank commonly known as lock-lifting lever functioning as another component of the lock-operating mechanism;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 2 in structure and position of parts except for an integral modified hood of the coupler head overhanging a portion of the lock-operating mechanism;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional elevation taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG. 10 depicting a coupler operating on the mechanical principles of the coupler of FIGS. 1 to 7 but having a modified head and correspondingly rnodified lever to facilitate operation of the lock-operating me'chamsm;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional elevation similar to FIG. 8 except that the lock-operating mechanism is positioned at the knuckle-open condition of the coupler; and

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary side view of the coupler as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIGS. 1 and 4 illustrate a coupler 5 in a locked condition disposing interior movable components in positions for maintaining coupled relation with another coupler. In this condition, a knuckle 6 is restrained from pivoting on a pin therefor by a lock 7, portions of which straddle a narrow tail portion of the knuckle as shown in FIG. 1. The lock-operating mechanism further comprises a bell crank or lock-lifting lever '9 and a link 10 which raise the lock 7 out of its position shown in FIG. 1 to the positions shown in FIG. 2 by a somewhat complicated pattern of movements in which the lock itself is used as a lever for rotating the knuckle 6.

When the lock 7 is in its lower knuckle-locking position of FIG. 1, the link 10 rests on a ridge =13 which is received in a notch 12 along its lower side. Any movement of the lock upward must be matched by movement of the link 10 outwardly of the internal region of the head through an opening 14 in the sidewall thereof. Unintentional movement of the lock is resisted by the ridge 13 functioning as a stop through engagement with the inward side of the notch 12.

As a departure from the prior art, the coupler includes a lever 18 shown pivotally connected with the link as a result of its arm 19 extending through an aperture 21 occurring in the laterally outward end portion of the link.

In operation of the coupler, whether it be of conventional design or the present design, the link 10 is raised out of engagement with the ridge 13 by a horizontal pull exerted on the link. During an uncoupling movement of the lock-operating system, the bell crank 9 pivots in a counter clockwise direction about a rounded boss 22 as the result of being pulled by the link at pivotal connection therebetween at 23. The lever 9 then lifts on the lock 7 through its pivotal connection therewith at 24 until a concavity 25 in the upper surface of the lock comes into contact with the rounded lower edge 26 of a web 27. Whereafter, a sufficient tensile force on the link 10 will cause the lock to pivot about the surface 26 as a fulcrum in a counter clockwise direction and cause its leg 28 to thrust against the adjacent tail portion of the knuckle 7 to pivot the knuckle toward an open position.

An analysis of the various lever arms which act during this operation will indicate that the force that must be applied to the link 10 is much greater than that exerted by the lock leg 28 on the knuckle to overcome the frictional and inertial resistance of the knuckle. In addition to the mechanical lever disadvantage incurred, substantial frictional forces between the various components of this train of mechanism are brought into play.

In order to overcome the substantial tensile force, such as formerly encountered by pulling on the link by cable or pull rod connected therewith, the coupler of the present invention incorporates a lever which may have a configuration such as illustrated with respect to the two embodiments herein described. While the levers described are shown in connection with a knuckle coupler, they were applicable to other types of side-pull couplers including knuckle couplers of other lock-operating designs, and fixed jaw types of which the Willison coupler is perhaps best known.

The first described embodiment is illustrated by FIGS. 1 to 7 and includes the lever 18 which is especially shaped to take advantage of the prior art shape of the coupler head 31 of the coupler 5. By fortunate incident, the prior art coupler is provided with a hood 32 for protecting the link 10 and other mechanisms from the materials which would tend to cause malfunction of the coupler mechanism, which enables the lever 18 to be shaped relative to a laterally facing extremity or edge 33 to achieve not only a simple horizontally directed tensile force on the link 10 but also to lift the link clear of its anticreep stop, i.e., ridge 13. Another favorable feature existing within one type of conventional coupler and made use of in the present invention is that the length of the hood 32 and the link 10 are so related, at the unlocked condition of the coupler, that the aperture 21 of the link is exposed beyond the length of the hood to permit insertion of the arm 19 of the lever. This feature enables the lever to be entrapped against accidental separation from the coupler during all operating conditions which would tend to cause accidental separation. The coupler is normally in a locked condition causing the aperture 21 to be positioned inwardly with respect to the extremity 33.

An essential aspect of the operation of the unlockingmechanism is that the link must be lifted clear of the ridge 13 before knuckle opening can occur. To achieve this result, the lever 18 comprises an arcuate extension 35 which projects at an angle biased with respect to the body 36 of the lever outwardly from the side of the body opposite that side on which the arm 19 is disposed. Both the extension 35, the arm 19 and the body 36 are disposed in a plane of revolution of the lever described as it swings about the outer end portion of the link 10 and about the hood extremity 33.

From the position shown in FIG. 1, the lever 18 swings in a clockwise direction and during the initial portion of the ambit, the arcuate shape of the inner surface of extension 35 is shaped to transmit primarily a lifting movement to the link 10 to effect disengagement thereof from the ridge 13. As an area of the extension 35 approximately at 38 passes over the extremity 33, the base of the arm 19 assumes a more directly horizontal movement outwardly of the opening 14. Meanwhile, the lever arm between the base of the arm 19 at approximately point 39 and the extremity 33 is decreasing to a substantial extent to approach the minimum value as illustrated in FIG. 2 to greatly increase the mechanical advantage of the lever 18 as manual effort is applied to the lever in reaching the position of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is an end view of the coupler condition shown in FIG. 1 and illustrates the end sill 41 of a car and a control cable 42 attached to the lever 18 and supported near its outboard extremity by a bracket 43. In some industrial plants, rigid control rods are preferred in place of the flexible cable shown. Because the coupler herein disclosed is commonly used around the melt shops of steel mills on cars for handling hot ingots and the like, the couplers are frequently actuated at some distance from the car through the use of a long rod provided with a hook for engaging the ring 44 at the end of cable 42.

FIGS. 7, 8, 9, and 10 refer to couplers 5a and 5b which are similar to coupler 5 of the earlier described embodiment in that much of the housing or coupler head and the knuckle 6, lock 7, lever 9, and the link 10 are identical. Portions or components of the couplers of FIGS. 7 and 8 to 10, which are modified with respect to the embodiment illustrated by FIGS. 1 to 7, corresponding to portions of the coupler of either the latter two embodiments carry the same numeral as the first described embodiment with the addition of the letter a in the case of FIG. 7, and the letter b in the case of FIGS. 8 to 10.

FIG. 7 illustrates a coupler 5a including the lever 18 in the same condition of operation as illustrated in FIG. 2. The coupler is intended to have construction identical with that of FIGS. 1 to 4 except that the coupler head 31a includes an upward extension 48 of the hood 32a. Extension 48 is an addition to the hood 32 previously disclosed for the purpose of providing greater protection of the lever extension 35 under conditions wherein couplers are subject to the accumulation of unwanted materials, such as liquid metal, on the upper surfaces thereof.

The embodiment of FIGS. 8 to 10 is distinguished from the prior embodiments essentially by construction of an externally mounted lever 50 and the modified coupler head 31b providing a journal-bearing or axle-hub connection of one to the other. The essential nature of journal-bearing relationship as intended herein is that the lever 50 swings about an axis in fixed relation with the coupler head and generally parallel relation with length thereof. Such a relationship may be achieved in the manner shown, e.g., by providing a lever 50 with a hub or bearing 51 shaped to enter the extension 53 of the protecting hood 32b for components, such as the link 10 and the bell crank lever 9. A journal or axle is provided by the couple rhead in the form of a removable pin 55. Optionally, journal-bearing relationship may be achieved in a manner not shown by forming the exterior lever 50 with a journal, i.e., a pair of journals protruding from the body 56 of the lever along its pivotal axis into bearings provided by opposite sides of the hood extension 53.

Herein the special problem of lifting the link off the ridge 13b is solved by constructing the lever 50 with an arm 58 to create an elongate slot or opening 59 which permits the lever to move the link from an intermediate position along arm 58 in essentially angular motion about its connection with the lever 9 during an initial state of the ambit of the lever 50 in which the link is lifted from the ridge 1311. Thereafter, as the eye portion of the link comes to rest against the base of the arm at the closed end of the slot at point 61 the arm completes to a substantial extent its angular ambit and traverses the link through the opening 14b in a horizontal and nearly linear direction. In a manner heretofore described with respect to FIG. 7, the hood extension 53 includes a web 63 disposed overhead the lock-operating mechanism to prevent the pivotal connection of the lever 50 and the link 10 from being fouled by molten or other crust-forming materials.

Arms 19 and 58 of the levers 18 and 50, respectively, have the function in each instance of entrapping respective levers in connection with the link 10 against accidental separation of the lever from the other mechanism of the coupler. In each instance, the lever must move the link 10 in an essentially pivotal movement out of engagement with the ridge 13, 13a or 13b, and then move the link through a laterally directed linear movement. In the case of the lever 18, the eye portion of the link 10 remains during working of the unlocking mechanism at the end of the slot formed by the arm and body of this lever. The length of the arm functions primarily to avoid accidental separation of the lever from the coupler. Lifting movement of the lever 18 necessary to disengage the notch portion of the link from the ridge 13 is achieved essentially through the sliding of the lever extension 35 over the edge 33 or 33a.

In the case of lever 50, the lever swings on a pivot fixed with respect to the coupler head. Thus, the shifting fulcrum necessary to lift and disengage the link 10 from the ridge 13b as achieved through movement of the link eye portion relative to the slot 59 formed by the arm 58 and the body 56 of lever 50.

Hence a shifting fulcrum for initially lifting the link by either lever 18, 50 is established. In the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 7, a shifting fulcrum occurs between the lever and housing whereas, in the embodiments of FIGS. 8 to 10, a shifting fulcrum occurs between the lever and the link as the link eye portion slides along the arm 58 during shifting of the coupler from knuckle-closed condition to knuckle-open position.

What is claimed is:

1. An automatic coupler having a chambered head, a lock supported within the head for maintaining the coupler in coupled relation with another coupler, a mechanism for operating the lock including a link movable within the head in a generally horizontal direction in transverse re lation to the coupler length between an inward position and a relatively outward position; said head having a lateral opening through which an outward end portion of the link is traversable, said coupler comprising:

a lever having an elongate body, means at one of its ends for engaging a portion of the head adjacent to the opening and being swingable thereabout within a plane of revolution, and an arm disposed generally within said plane of revolution, said arm extending first outwardly from, and then generally parallel to, the body away from said one end along a side of the body normally facing said head to define a slot between the arm and the body;

said arm connecting in pivotal relation with said outward end portion of said body, and being related to said one end portion of said link to dispose the length of said body in generally horizontal outward relation with the head at an unlocked condition of the coupler, and in generally vertically-extending lateral relation at locked condition of the coupler.

2. The coupler of claim 1 wherein:

said link has a notch along its underside and said head provides a ridge receivable by said notch; and

said lever, link, and head comprise shifting fulcrum means for lifting said link in the clear of said ridge prior to outward lateral movement of the link as said lever is swinging outwardly away from said head.

3. The coupler of claim 2 wherein:

said shifting fulcrum means is provided by said lever and said head, and the lever has an arcuate extension providing a concave surface projecting from a normally upward end of said body at an angle biased with respect to said body outwardly from the side thereof opposite that from which said arm projects;

and said head has a laterally facing edge engaged by said arcuate extension.

4. The coupler of claim 2 wherein:

said lever is connected with said head in journal-bearing relationship along an axis in fixed relation with the head and in generally parallel relation with the length thereof;

said link comprises an eye portion receiving said arm;

and

said shifting fulcrum means comprises said eye portion being disposed along an intermediate portion of said arm in slida'ble relation therewith when said notch receives said ridge, said eye portion being movable along said arm to lodge thereagainst at the closed end of said slot as said lever swings through substantial portion of its ambit.

5. The automatic coupler of claim 1 wherein:

the length of the link is such as to retain said lever arm inwardly of an upward portion of said opening at said locked condition of the coupler to prevent an accidental detachment of the arm from said link, said outward end portion of the link being positionable at said unlocked condition to receive said arm or permit disengagement of said arm.

6. The automatic coupler of claim 5 wherein:

said head comprises a hood covering the region traversed by said link and said hood extends laterally beyond said sidewall; and

said means of the lever is laterally offset with respect to the lever body in a direction opposite to that in which said arm is offset from said body to enable said body and said arm to be disposed underneath said hood at said locked condition.

7. The automatic coupler of claim 6 wherein:

said means is an extension projecting from said body which has arcuate undersurface adapted to slidably engage a lateral facing edge-like extremity of said hood.

8. The automatic coupler of claim 6 wherein:

said means comprises a journal-bearing portion in pivotal relation with a complementary journal-bearing portion of said hood.

9. The automatic coupler of claim 6 wherein:

the hood has sidewalls spaced in the longitudinal direction of the coupler, an axle spanning said sidewalls, and said means of the lever includes a hub portion received between said sidewalls with said axle extending therethrough.

10. A lever for use in operating a side-pull automatic coupler comprising:

an elongate body having an arcuate extension projecting generally at an angle from said body providing an inner arcuate surface to engage and revolve within a plane of rotation about a head portion of a coupler; and

an arm joined to the body and extending first outwardly from, and then generally parallel to, the body away from one end along a side of the body facing into said plane of rotation.

(References on following page) 7 8 'References Cited 2,646,896 7/1953 Metzger 213-421 0 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,4 5 8 1 10/1968 Cope 213 124X 1,122,136 12/1914 Linderholm 213-134 DRAYTON E. HOFFMAN, Przmary Exammer. 1,201,670 10/1916 Blackmore 213162 5 US. Cl. X.R. 2,023,550 12/1935 Richards 213-123 213124, 218 

